Jeremiah 34
When we make solemn resolves before the Lord, do we consider these to be nothing? When we forget our own promises, can we presume that the Lord has forgotten? What can I do about promises that I have made that have been followed up only with unfaithfulness, especially when I can no longer remember either the promise or my breaking of it?
In the days of Zedekiah, the last king of
The account of this prophesy in Jeremiah 34 is followed by another prophetic message regarding the reign of Zedekiah, one that had to do with the fate of Hebrew slaves held by their fellow countrymen. According to the law of God, at the end of seven years of service, Hebrews were to release these slaves. This was something that the people did not do, and that was also true in the final days of
The one difference during Zedekiah’s reign was that the king made a covenant with the people whereby they committed themselves to doing the right thing on this matter, and they actually seemed to be following through on their solemn word for a time. In ancient days, when a solemn promise was made involving powerful people and nations, a ritual ceremony was often used to seal the promise. In this case that ritual apparently involved the cutting of a calf into various pieces, and the passage between these pieces of those who were making the covenant promise. The point of this cutting ritual was this: May this be done to me if I do not keep this promise.
This was obviously a very serious commitment, and apparently the people actually did what they were supposed to do, and freed their Hebrew slaves. Unfortunately this was not the end of the story. The former masters took back these male and female slaves and brought them into subjection, despite their solemn promise.
Had they forgotten their word? This seems impossible, particularly considering the vivid seriousness of the ritual cutting ceremony. Did they think that there would be no consequence for their renewed disobedience? It is hard to diagnose their thinking here, but there can be no reasonable excuse for this kind of high-handed rebellion against God’s Law.
God, of course, has a concern for all who are oppressed, and that alone is enough of a reason for the plan of liberty that God had in the Law, but there was another reason for this provision in the civil law of
The provisions in the law for liberty were important signposts to the coming of the Redeemer. They were to help people to understand something of the liberty that would come to us as we are brought out of this cruel bondage to sin. When
To make this solemn commitment to free Hebrew slaves, to actually free them, but then to recapture them again seems like a more serious offense against God and man then to never have pledged to follow God’s Law at all. The consequences would be serious, as the Lord announces to Jeremiah. As the pieces of that calf became food for scavenger birds and beasts, the bodies of those who abandoned their solemn promises would be food for animals.
Imagine if the answer to this deception and oppression was that Zedekiah alone would suffer the penalty required. Would it have been just for liars to go free, and to have the king face the penalty for sin? This is precisely what has happened for us in the cross of Jesus Christ. He has taken the desolation we deserved upon Himself and has freed us from the bondage of sin. The analogy of Zedekiah falls far short, because Zedekiah could never have been a sinless substitute for us. Zedekiah was a wicked king who needed a savior. I am sure that Zedekiah had forgotten many solemn promises of his own, and even lost track of the depth of his own unfaithfulness. Jesus was a perfectly righteous King. Through his sinless life and atoning death He has won for us a deep and abiding freedom. It is our free privilege now to offer up our bodies as living sacrifices to Him, that the good news of liberty in Christ may be proclaimed throughout the world.
posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM
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